


Kabuki and Queens

by junko



Series: Chasing Demons [18]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Love Hotels, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-06
Updated: 2012-12-06
Packaged: 2017-11-20 07:16:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/582722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junko/pseuds/junko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Byakuya feels strangely at home watching the drag show, but how will he feel about a "love hotel"??  (part 4 of Renji's birthday gift)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kabuki and Queens

**Author's Note:**

> Still no sex. My excuse this time is that I really want to have the sex from Renji's point of view (it's a personal hotness issue for me.) So, this is the scene builder that leads to the SEX. I hope to simultaneously post part 5 so no one has to hunt me down and harass me for being such a wicked, evil tease.

As Byakuya watched the drag queen strut on the stage, he had the strangest sort of stab of nostalgia. After all, how different was this really from the kabuki actors he and Hisana had enjoyed? Apart from the quality of the dancing and the sheer volume of the experience, of course--but, otherwise, what was an onnagata, but a cross-dressing performer? Like kabuki theatres, this club had the air of the avant-garde. Similarly, too, the audience was comprised of people from every rank and station, a cross-section of humanity all united in an interest in sparkly show and grand spectacle.

He felt oddly… at home.

Except instead of the charming and refined Hisana at his side, there was Renji. Renji, who clearly enjoyed the ribald and bawdy nature of the performance, since he kept smacking Byakuya’s arm whenever someone told a particularly rude or off-color joke. When Renji jabbed him again—this time in the ribs--Byakuya shot him a cold glare. Not that Renji noticed. He was laughing too hard.

It continually astounded Byakuya that he found someone so incredibly oafish and annoying attractive in any way.

And yet he did.

Very much.

What had started out as a purely physical relationship was becoming something more… entangled. Byakuya had actually known for some time his rude and uncultured lieutenant was growing important to him. He’d been aware that his feelings for Renji ran very deep—deep enough to be willing to publicly mourn him.

But he never expected the depth of trust that would blossom between them. He never thought he’d find another soul besides Senbonzakura with whom to share so many secrets. Thanks to this trip to the human world, Renji now understood certain things about him that even Hisana had not. 

Yet it was even more than that. Here, far away from the constraints of the Seireitei, Byakuya felt happier in Renji’s company than he had with anyone in ages. No wonder Hisana’s ghost was angry with him.

Perhaps… perhaps he loved this man.

Byakuya reached out and grabbed Renji’s hand, gave it a little squeeze, and held on. Not only was he rewarded with an astonished smile, it also served to stop the lieutenant from bopping him in the arm repeatedly. 

Byakuya smiled back and allowed another public kiss.

It was Renji’s birthday, after all. And, honestly, who would see them in this dark club? The only people who might be watching were sure to be discrete in their own way. Who could Urahara or Yoruichi tell but each other or their fellow rogue Tessai? Without a doubt Yoruichi would tease him should they meet again. But, he could endure it—in point of fact, he missed it. He’d gone far too long without her taunting games. 

Yoruichi.

Byakuya rarely allowed himself the downward spiral of ‘what ifs,’ but he couldn’t help but wondering how things might have been different for him had she not abandoned the Soul Society when she did. After all, he hardly knew anyone, outside of current company, and certainly not within peerage, more sexually adventurous than the Lady Shihōin. 

What he wouldn’t have given for her advice, all those years ago…. 

Byakuya sipped his wine thoughtfully.

But what could she have done, really? She could hardly have put up a hand to stop events from unfolding as they had. He would have needed Tessai’s interference with an illegal time reversal spell to have truly averted that fated moment when the door burst open and he’d been discovered with the stable boy, riding crop in hand. 

No, there was nothing to be done for that or for all the shameful things that followed. But, perhaps, had she been around once he was at Academy, emancipated and making his own way, she could have helped him make peace with the fact that certain things never failed to titillate no matter how much he tried sublimate or ignore them. 

However, he would never have met Hisana had he not been searching teahouses in lower and lower districts for his stable boy, who rumor had it had turned to the trade. Not that he and Hisana had ever engaged in such things. She would have turned him out at the barest whiff of that; she would never have seen it as play, only violence, which she abhorred, particularly from paying clients. In fact, if anything, Hisana’s views on the matter cemented Byakuya’s sense that a gentleman did not engage in such activities.

And perhaps a gentleman did not. 

But, good god, there was certainly an array of toys to choose from in the human world where plenty of people clearly did!

Byakuya sighed and shook his head. There was no changing the past. There was, at least, this moment and, with luck, the future. 

He had to let Renji’s hand go in order to politely applaud the comedian. Thank fate, the next act seemed to be merely singing. With any luck, there would be no bruised biceps from this performance. 

Renji leaned in and asked, “Have you hit your limit? You want to go? Only, it don’t seem like you found that last one as hilarious as I did, and, well, you’re kind of tense all of a sudden.”

It no longer surprised Byakuya to find Renji perfectly attuned to his mood. It did, however, make it difficult to play the part of a good companion at times like this. “I will stay as long as you wish.”

“Yeah and I appreciate that, but that’s not what I asked, is it?

Renji looked genuinely concerned, so Byakuya explained, “The show is fine. Loud, but still enjoyable. It reminds me of Kabuki.”

“Oh. Right,” Renji said, with a nod and a concerned frown, “Kabuki. You and Hisana went to shows, I guess, huh?”

“We did,” Byakuya acknowledged, astonished that Renji would make that connection so quickly. But then, he probably didn’t realize how radical it had been for a member of the True First clans to regularly patronize such a low-brow, often vulgar shows. Byakuya even remembered a time when a fist-fight broke out in the audience over the favor of a particularly handsome, young actor, who was clearly servicing several patrons.

Renji was already standing up, “Hey, if it makes you sad, we can go. I didn’t come here for this, anyway. I just wanted to dance.”

Byakuya stood up automatically, but frowned. Had his insistence on a waltz ruined something for Renji? He followed Renji as they wove their way around tables that had been brought out for the show to the door. “Shall we find somewhere else to dance?”

“No,” Renji smiled sloppily. “I can’t imagine a better dance than the one we shared.”

“Yes,” Byakuya smiled back, though Renji’s massive wave of affection so unbearably intense that he had to drop his gaze. They came to the door and Renji opened it for him. “Where to now?” Byakuya asked as they slipped out into the night.

Renji shrugged and took in a deep breath of the cool evening air as though weighing his options. “I don’t know. We could take a walk or maybe try to find a restaurant that’s open.”

Renji hadn’t booked a hotel room? Was something wrong? No, he never would have suggested the visit to the sex shop if last night had put him off. Maybe Renji just didn’t want the night to come to an end. Byakuya could understand that; it had been a surprisingly lovely evening. “It’s up to you.”

“I could use a bite to eat,” Renji said somewhat sheepishly, as if embarrassed by his hunger. “Let’s wander and see what we find.”

“Very well,” Byakuya agreed, though he wasn’t terribly fond of the idea of meandering aimlessly in the human world without a plan of action. Or a map--though Renji did seem to occasionally consult a scrap of paper that was covered in scribbles that looked suspiciously like Yoruichi’s scratchings. From what he could tell, she’d given him a wide array of addresses for local hot spots, and somehow Renji knew how to navigate these nameless, numberless streets. 

The buildings in this district were tall and every surface seemed to be covered in blinking advertisements or flashing lights. There was so much ambient light that the only thing twinkling in the sky was the red tail lights of an airplane. Despite the late hour, everyone seemed in a hurry, too. Car rushed by, bicyclists swooshed past in clots, trains clanged as they clattered across the overpass. The pace here seemed ten times faster than that of Seireitei, as though mortals felt a compulsion to rush through their short lives.

Renji seemed to take it all in with wide eyes. It wasn’t at all difficult to see him fitting into this world with its noise and bustle and energy. But it hadn’t been so long ago that he was a part of this place. Byakuya never had been. Though perhaps, some day, he would be.

They walked several blocks lost in their own thoughts. Byakuya surprised himself by being the first to break the silence with an awkward announcement, “I may have overstepped, Renji,” he said carefully. “I bought you something for your birthday.”

His smile was wicked. “Oh yeah, a lot of really fun things, too, but, you know, you didn’t—“

“Yes, but I mean something else, as well,” Byakuya interrupted, “Something, in retrospect, which may have been overly extravagant.”

Renji’s brows knitted together in a deep frown. “Holy shit, what does ‘overly extravagant’ mean to a Kuchiki?”

That was just it, wasn’t it? It was nothing to Byakuya, but he knew exactly how difficult it was for Renji to procure an item like this. In fact, he heard him complain about it incessantly. 

They’d come to a small park, so Byakuya stopped near a park bench. He pulled the slim package from the inner pocket of his suit coat and offered it with both hands. It was difficult, but he resisted saying, ‘Tsumaranai mono desu ga,’ _it’s just a small thing_.

Renji stared at the ornate blue wrapping. He seemed to actually take a moment to admire the origami crane that was part of the ‘bow.’ Byakuya had struggled to try to fashion a nue, but he’d had to abandon his efforts for something less complicated and more traditional. Renji tugged on his ear and muttered, “I’m supposed to say something about how I don’t need this or I’m not worthy or something like that, right?”

Byakuya smiled, “You’re also not supposed to open it right away, but I rather hoped you would.”

Renji sat down on the park bench with an, “Oh thank god.”

Byakuya sat down beside him feeling anxious, and trying not to let it show on his face. There was a reason that gifts should be opened in private. It would kill him to see Renji look disappointed.

Renji tore into the wrapping like he was a child, leaving Byakuya to gather up the pieces of the shredded paper, lest they be blown away as litter. When Renji saw the glasses case with the ‘Silver Dragonfly’ logo and his eyes went wide. “Oh, you didn’t,” he murmured, but he sounded thrilled. He opened the case to see a pair of his signature sunglasses. “Oh, you did!”

Byakuya realized he was clutching the wad of paper tightly, “Is it all right?”

“Yeah,” Renji beamed, throwing his arms around Byakuya and giving him a big hug and planting a long, sloppy kiss on Byakuya’s lips as well. Then he sat back and turned the sunglasses over and over in his hands admiring them. He finally tucked them into his hair. “I have to tell you I’m not sure I’m ever wearing these into battle though. Last two times I wore them: broken! Doesn’t seem like good luck, does it?”

Byakuya’s heart froze just a little. An unlucky gift? Was this like Hisana all over again?

Renji continued obliviously, “But, both times it was Ichigo’s fault and we’re friends now with Mr. Substitute Soul Reaper, right? So what the fuck! These are awesome, Taicho, thanks.”

“Byakuya,” Byakuya corrected. As much as he loved always being Renji’s captain, this should be a gift from a man to his lover, not from a captain to his subordinate.

“Right,” Renji said, though it seemed to make him blush to be so intimate as to say, “Thanks, Byakuya.”

“You’re welcome, Renji,” he said in return. Then, he shivered in the night air. “I can’t believe you didn’t book a hotel room.”

“Heh,” Renji said with a smile, pulling the list from his pocket. “We still could.”

#

 

Byakuya decided he did not like the experience of a taxi, but Renji insisted the easiest way to find a ‘love hotel’ was just ask the cabby to take them to one. Byakuya still felt as though he were careening wildly through traffic as they stood in front of a windowless building that had a simple marquee out front featuring a big, bright red heart. 

It took them a few minutes to find the entrance. When they did find it, it was down a narrow alley and under a covered walk that reminded Byakuya of the secret tunnels that allowed discrete entrance to the chaya, the tea rooms, where he’d meet with Hisana in the early days.

The inside, however, was much different. In fact, the entryway was little more than an empty, brightly-colored room. It was clean and well lit, with a comfortable looking love seat in a corner, soft carpeting, and… nothing else. Two women were standing in front of a vending machine giggling. They looked up when the door opened and jumped guiltily out of the way. Renji, with his super-confidence, strode over to the machine, slid in the credit card, and pressed a series of buttons. He gave Byakuya a little chuckle, “Check this out,” he said, “There’s a bondage themed room.”

“Aw,” whined one of the girls, “That’s what we wanted.”

“Well then, you should have been bolder, shouldn’t you?” Renji said, as the key dropped down into the slot. “Guess you ladies are stuck with ‘Hello Kitty,’ huh?”

“Renji,” Byakuya said sharply. “These young women were here first.”

“Yeah, but, sir….” Renji stopped when he saw the look in Byakuya’s eye. He grunted and sighed, “Fine. You want this? I’ll trade you for, uh….” Renji peered at the choices, “The classroom.”

This sent the girls into another twitter of giggles, but the braver of the two, a young slip of a thing in the strange juxtaposition of a man’s suit and girlish pig tails on either side of her head, came up and put her card into the machine and picked out the numbers Renji indicated. The key fell out with a clunk. They made a strangely formal exchange with bows. Then the girls took off up the stairway with high pitched squeals.

“So, uh,” Renji said with a sly smile and the beginnings of a blush on his cheeks, “You want to play teacher? I’m pretty sure I’ve been a very naughty boy and I’ve heard you’re a really strict sensei.”

Byakuya couldn’t help a light shake of his head in amazement. “You’re sure? On your birthday?”

Renji took his hand and led him up the stairs. “Well, it was this or ‘space odyssey,' and I have no idea how to make that hot. Besides, who doesn’t harbor an Academy fantasy?”

Byakuya paused on the stair. “You do? You really have a fantasy like this?”

Renji rubbed the side of his nose. “Uh, well, this will be the first time you figure into it, but, yeah.”

“Oh?” Byakuya said, trying to keep jealousy from creeping into his tone. “Who do you usually imagine in the role of strict disciplinarian?”

They’d started back up the narrow staircase and Renji was checking the room numbers against the one on his key. He gave Byakuya the slightest glance out of the corner of his eye, and coughed out, “Shūhei.”

“Lieutenant Hisgai?” Byakuya sifted through his memory and came up with the image of spiky black hair, facial tattoos and leather armbands and a choker. Was this Renji’s usual type? “Of the Ninth?” 

“You know another Shūhei?” Renji tried to cover his embarrassment with gruffness. “Look, he was the hot upperclassman, okay? He did actually teach a couple classes. I wasn’t the only one with fantasies.” 

“I see,” Byakuya said, because he didn’t know what else to say. He was still trying to decide how he felt about this revelation. 

Renji had found the room. Before turning the key in the lock, he said, “You don’t have to get like that. He doesn’t even remember the one time we got together because he was drunk off his ass and mooning over Matsumoto the whole time. I guess any redhead in a storm, huh?”

Yet, despite Renji’s wan smile, it was difficult not to notice the hurt in his voice. “I’m sorry,” Byakuya said. “It’s never easy when admiration isn’t returned.”

Renji snorted a laugh. “You think?”

What was that supposed to mean? 

Byakuya frowned in thought as Renji opened the door for him. As advertised, the room was furnished like an actual classroom. There was a chalkboard along one wall, a smaller white board on the other. A small book case containing textbooks was under the smaller board, a large black clock ticked noisily. The room, however, was narrow and there was only space for one large oak teacher’s desk and one for a student. 

Renji shut and locked the door behind them, and started exploring. He opened the drawer in the teacher’s desk and let out a low whistle. “Okay, so we have several interesting options here,” he said, laying each on the blotter on the desk, “A pointer, a wooden ruler, and this lovely… an actual paddle.”

Oh.

Byakuya had to remind himself that it was okay to be excited. 

While he struggled to not be overwhelmed just by the mere thought of what was to come, Renji was still pulling open drawers and inspecting the contents. “Lots of condoms,” he said, putting a few on the table, “Lube of all kinds and flavors.” He glanced at a few choices, tossing most of them back into the drawer. He eventually picked out a favorite. He opened it up and smelled it, and then, with a nod of approval, tossed it on the desk. “Ooooh,” he said, once he’d reached the bottom drawer, “And here we have costumes.” He held up a little plaid school girl skirt. He stretched out the waist band and frowned into the slender middle, “Though I don’t think this is in my size.”

Byakuya shrugged out of his coat and hung it on a nearby peg. He started rolling up his sleeves, “I believe this will be sufficient costuming for me.”

Renji gave him a grin, “Oh, yeah, hottie teacher.”

“And you’re already dressed like delinquent.”

Renji looked like he was going to protest, but then he glanced down at his clothes and said, “True enough.” He went back to his inspection of the contents of the desk drawers. He found something that made him pause, but he brought it out anyway, “Looks like you could tie me to the desk,” he noted. He pulled out a tangle of leather and cuffs, and started to unwind and puzzle it out. “And, uh, looks like maybe it goes all the way under the desk…. Right, these bits could attach to the legs of the desk for my ankles, and this thing is adjustable… maybe, like….”

His head was cocked slightly to the side, like a curious dog. And his expression was an adorable combination of confusion and horror.

Byakuya came over and took the contraption from Renji’s hands. “Allow me.”


End file.
